Page 35 of Royally Benevolent

The President and Mayor exchanged a surprised, if not slightly disgruntled, glance. Then, the President spoke up.

“We must vote on The Princess’s motion. Do I have a second?”

“Second,” Wyatt said.

“On using Vision funds for a curb cutout, how do we vote?”

The roll call began. The Mayor and President grudgingly voted yes, making the vote automatically a majority. I didn’t expect it, but I assumed they voted with me to pad my ego. Either way, we got our first small victory in the war. I beamed, satisfied that even little old me could be a cunning conspirator. And given Wyatt’s satisfied expression, I’d pleased the person I longed to impress most.

20

THE PLAN

WYATT

“In favour,” I voted, sealing the unanimous support of Odette’s proposed measure.

“With seven votes in favour, the measure passes,” Gautier said.

We’d had them over a barrel, but Odette shone brightest. She’d duped them and surprised me. Her toothy smile made me grin from ear to ear. We’d done it, and she wasn’t apologising for her victory. Impressed with her grit, I gave her a proud nod. She’d done so well—for her cause and mine. I felt less guilty for leaving her hanging earlier. When I’d been called to Italy on business, I had to shuffle everything. In the meantime, she’d schemed big.

“Great. Can I make another motion regarding the budget?” Odette asked.

“You… have the floor.” Gautier checked his watch.

“I’d like to consider an initiative to do a thorough review of the top twenty dangerous intersections in the city,” Odette said.

You could have heard a pin drop.

“What?” The Mayor asked.

“I did a preliminary investigation. The curb bump out is probably the easiest remedy for many, but I think a dozen smallimprovements must be made. I rode around to all of these on my cargo bike this morning and took photos. I’m no expert, of course. The city engineers could give us better ideas for improvements, but I think it could work.”

Quickly—and with no discussion—Gautier raised his gavel. “On this motion, how do we all vote.”

He railroaded her.

I raised my hand, “I move to table the motion.”

Odette’s face fell. She didn’t understand I wanted tosaveher proposal. Instead, she assumed I was out to get her.

“And request a five-minute recess before we address the art contest winners and my last agenda item,” I added.

“Those are two separate motions. Do we have a second on the matter of tabling The Princess’s proposal?”

The Mayor raised his hand.

Gautier banged his gavel. “It is tabled. On the matter of a recess, I will second.” He banged it once more.

The group broke. Odette slowly got up and walked down the hall. I followed her, desperate to explain my thought process.

“Hey, I wasn’t trying to throw you under the bus,” I said.

Odette turned, confused. “What?”

“I admire what you did in trying to use that momentum to push through the study. It’s a great strategic move. Unfortunately, you must chip away at it with these old bastards.”

She snickered at my coarse language.

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